Struggle for control of Hitchcock Foundation goes to Supremes Associated Press The fight for control of one of Nebraska’s oldest and most prestigious charitable foundations goes on despite the death of the leader of the one of the factions. The August death of foundation trustee Denman Kountze Jr. effectively ended the three federal lawsuits he had filed in the dispute. But it appears the final say on who runs the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Foundation will be decided by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which has yet to schedule arguments in the case. Earlier this dispute became the subject of lurid allegations of self dealing by well connected Omaha power players in the radical publication Counter Punch “We think that the Nebraska Supreme Court has a very important decision to make,” said Omaha attorney David Domina, who represents the Denman Kountze Jr. faction The foundation, which has some $18 million in assets, was established in 1943 by Martha Hitchcock, the wife of Gilbert Hitchcock, a U.S. senator and founder of the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. It has given money to such entities as Columbia University, the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska Museum of Art, the Nebraska State Historical Society and American Public Television. The fight has split members of Omaha’s Kountze family, which married into the Hitchcock family generations ago. Last year, Douglas County District Court Judge James Gleason ruled in favor of one faction of the family — trustees Neely Kountze, his wife, Mary Kountze, and Tyler Gains — effectively giving them control of the foundation. The other side was led by Denman Kountze Jr. — Neely Kountze’s uncle, who had served as president of the foundation since 1984. Remaining are Denman Kountze’s two sons, Charles and Edward. The fight began in 2002 and escalated when Neely and Mary Kountze and Gaines filed a lawsuit accusing Denman, Edward and Charles Kountze of trying to take control of the foundation. In a countersuit, Denman, Edward and Charles Kountze claimed they had rightful control of the foundation and accused Neely Kountze of using foundation money to benefit charities with which he had ties. Gleason found no wrongdoing on the part of Neely Kountze. Gleason also voided a foundation rule that required Denman Kountze Jr. to be present in order for a board meeting to take place. The judge said he kept Denman Kountze Jr. on the board only because the other side requested that he remain. Gleason also said Edward Kountze must be removed from the board because, among other things, he tried to give money to Columbia University without board approval. Edward Kountze has maintained that the last will and testament of Martha Hitchcock requires the foundation to donate money to Columbia. The Denman Kountze faction asked for a new trial in front of another judge, which Gleason denied. That decision is the subject of the case pending before the high court. The federal lawsuits were filed in Nebraska and New York. The New York case challenged the stop-payment on a $125,000 scholarship check from the foundation to Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism in late 2002. Another lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha, challenged legal fees paid by the foundation on behalf of the Neely Kountze faction. A third lawsuit questioned foundation investments handled by First National Bank of Omaha. As for the case before the high court, Ed Hotz, the lawyer for the Neely Kountze Jr. side, said “We’ll just have wait and see.”